Of A Dream | Chapter 5
His footsteps were soundless on the soft grass, his movements unnecessarily cautious. The night was like pockets of cool air covered by a vast stretch of sunken black velvet, the stars embedded in the immense dark blanket. Each step closer to the curled up figure in front of him, Van grew slower, more hesitant. Her form seemed more lonely, more solemn, more sad.
More his fault.
Running a hand through his unruly hair, he stood behind Hitomi, unsure of what to say, what to do. He could leave, gather his thoughts and apologize later. Van's maroon eyes narrowed as he tried to make a choice.
"Van?"
His mouth literally dropped as Hitomi said his name, her voice slightly scratchy. Her green eyes were at half mast as she rested her chin on her knees. She craned her neck around to look at him, and wasn't surprised that despite his confused expression, he seemed sure of himself.
Cut the skin to the bone
Fall asleep all alone,
Hear your voice in the dark...
His eyes darkened as they concentrated on her, and sitting down beside her, he paused.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice slightly strained. Not so much that it was forced, but as if the words were foreign to him. Hitomi nodded slowly.
Lose myself in your eyes,
Choke my voice say goodnight,
As the world falls apart...
"It's just tough, I guess I'm too sensitive," Hitomi shrugged with a smile, however it didn't quite make her eyes. Van nibbled on the inside of his lip, his eyes squinting to make out the faint horizon in the dark night. He chose to remain silent, as Hitomi gave him a sideways glance. "Maybe the world can't be beautiful," Hitomi said softly, looking down into her lap, "Can't be wonderful. Maybe it's just all harsh and cruel and I'm one of those foolish enough to believe blindly." Her voice cracked into a high pitch at the last syllable and her sniffle was loud in the quiet air.
"Beauty's in the eye of the beholder," Van replied calmly, "True beauty doesn't exist."
My life just lost all meaning
Do one thing for me tonight
I'm dying in this silence...
"Yeah," Hitomi nodded wearily, slightly put out. Looking up into the sea of small sparkling diamonds, a fond twinkle crept into her eyes. It was a spiral of scintillating brilliance, contrasting against the onyx painted sky. Some stars were small beads of radiance, others more eye catching as luminous pearls. The wind was slumbering off somewhere else, away from that place for the night, it's gentle yawns rustling the leaves of some distant tree. Everything was bathed in a deep azure glow. It was a moment where your breath was taken away.
"If we don't even have beauty left in the world," Hitomi whispered slowly, her eyes pinking and welling up with saltwater, "What do we have?" she shouted, and as she raised her arms Van flinched, expecting a slap sharply across the face.
He leaned back in slight surprise as she threw her arms around his torso, sobbing roughly into his shoulder. She was.... Pressed up against him, and he had the urge to choke. It was so intimate, yet so chaste, so... Trusting. Hesitantly bringing one hand onto her back, he held her close.
And suddenly he blinked sharply as he had the awful sensation he was falling very quickly.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one leading
me?" he remarked slyly as the maiden behind him hopped ineptly over a large
tree root.
"Then it'd be harder to sustain my urge to push
you down the hill," the woman replied arrogantly, and the man ran his
finger over the bandaging around his torso before cracking a grin.
"Point," he admitted, raising his arms boyishly.
"But I'm afraid I'm going to have to take that chance because from this
point I don't know where to go." He watched with amused eyes as the maiden
gathered up her skirt slightly, allowing her to clamber up the hill more
efficiently. Crossing his arms in a bored fashion, his face lit up as she shot
him a dirty look, her cheeks flushing that adorable pinkish red hue. Bending
down slightly she grabbed a tree trunk as she continued climbing up, and as she
swung her foot over a fallen branch her foot slid on the soft earth.
Flailing up her arms her free foot jerked up as she cried out. Deftly he reached
his arm around her and pulled her towards him. Grabbing at his shoulders
reflexively, she leaned her cheek against his shoulder, regaining her breath.
Realizing their position, she jerked her head up, bringing it away from his face
slightly as she noticed the darkening of his irises.
He was staring down at her, her cheeks flushed, wisps of hair framing her face. Bright large eyes blinked, afraid, at him. Tension hummed in the air as time stood still. And then...
His face lowered towards her and he touched his lips with hers.
It was true beauty.
Simultaneously they parted, and Van searched Hitomi's face frantically. Her eyes were a lot more normal then his at the moment, and Van frowned. Didn't she experience that memory as well? Parting his lips to speak she suddenly stood up as a familiar slicing noise filled the air.
"The crest of Fanelia," Hitomi accused, flipping the sword so that the red, gold and black emblem showed. A sick hand fell on his sheathe, and Van felt ill as it was empty.
"You just held me like that for my sword?" Van blurted out loud, and Hitomi nodded, her green eyes lingering slightly.
The last star left in heaven,
Is falling down to earth and
Do you still feel the same way?
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, "I thought we were friends."
"Friends?" Van replied incredulously, "We barely know each other." Silence ensued the comment, and Hitomi touched the end of the sword to the earth before letting it drop with a soft thud onto the ground.
"You said you'd never forget me," she said quietly, not meeting his eye, "You promised, and I remembered."
***
There was a faint knock at the door, and Dryden scanned his brown eyes over the scroll in front of him before rolling it up with a snap.
"Come in," he called, and the door creaked open hesitantly. The scholar raised an intrigued eyebrow as a youth bowed his head respectfully, before looking him dead in the eye. "How may I help you?" Shutting the door behind himself, the youth panned his gaze around the room discreetly before regarding the question.
"I need to know about Fanelia."
Dryden made no comment, no change in facial expression. But he was frowning inside.
***
Said it yourself
Said I'm not ready
And telling myself
But it's not sinking in
Hitomi lay on her side, the clean blankets pushed clumsily to the side as the setting sun washed through the open windows. She usually kept the tall glass panes covered by the curtains, but for some reason leaving them open was so much more comforting. Warmth and a sort of melancholy lilt kept her still in her bed, the only movement the gentle fluttering of her eyes. He had been there for her, possibly saving her from death. How could something like that keep them as only acquaintances? A part of her asked why he had questioned her reason for holding him, why he looked betrayed...
Disappointed.
Swallowing the scratchy feeling in her throat, she crumbled the corner of her blanket into her fist.
You see what I meant,
I told you before
That I never wanted to feel like this again...
There was a knock at the door, and Hitomi winced in irritation.
"Yes?" she called, and there was a brief pause.
"Are you decent?" a deep voice asked, and Hitomi propped herself up on her elbows in confusion. The speaker didn't ask for permission, rather, just if she was dressed or not.
"Yes," she answered, trying to decipher the voice when he stepped into her room. Resentment crossed her features as she slouched back down. "What do you want."
"Nothing," Van replied gruffly, averting his eyes arrogantly. He was surprised as a pillow collided with the side of his head.
"Don't disturb my rest for a nothing, you jerk," Hitomi seethed, "You came here for a reason, so be a man and spill." Incredulous eyes narrowed into annoyed ones as Van clenched his jaw.
"What's your problem?" he demanded, and Hitomi dropped her mouth, a bitter laugh escaping.
"I thought you were my friend, my only one, and there you are claiming we aren't. Don't you remember?" she asked, her green eyes sharp and burning holes through him. "I didn't remember at first," she said quietly, her posture softened, her features relaxing. "But I remembered, later. When I was little, I was crying, and you stayed with me. You made me feel better," Hitomi continued, looking up from her lap and into his eyes, then back down. "You promised me you'd never forget me, that we'd be friends." A dusk colored blush reddened her cheeks. "And I feel like such a pathetic idiot right now." Van blinked, everything dawning on him slowly.
"Oh."
Hitomi had the urge to say 'lovely reply', but thought better of it and wrung her hands.
"So, what did you come here to say?" Hitomi asked, pretending she didn't care anymore and straightening up. Van clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze on the floor.
Maybe I'm useless
Just couldn't remember
Maybe I'm nervous
And I'll make you surrender
"Uh," he trailed off, his face flushing red for the first time Hitomi had ever really seen. She looked into his eyes, and he studied hers quizzically before turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Hitomi demanded, and skating his gaze back to her he threw a small object at her. "Watch it!" she muttered, and picking up the small box she whipped it towards Van.
The raven haired youth smiled slightly as he heard the box hit the door as he shut it behind him.
Grumbling, Hitomi got out of bed, the cold air rushing around her feet, and picked up the small box. Opening it, her green eyes stopped blinking in an irritated fashion. A delicate ring of silver was nested in cream silk, twisting into lily of the valley. Removing it, Hitomi inspected the craftsmanship in awe. Stunning, each petal and contour was done with obsession to detail, and love for construction. Inside it read;